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ExperienceChris Arnt* Assistant District Attorney: 16 years* Chief Assistant District Attorney: 7 yearsDavid Dunn* Assistant District Attorney: 4 years* Private attorney: 17 years* Circuit Public Defender: 12 yearsRon Goulart* Chattanooga police officer: 8 years* Fort Oglethorpe City Attorney: 20 years* City Court Judge: 20 years* Juvenile Court Judge: 6 years* Fort Oglethorpe City Manager: 9 years
The list of people vying for Catoosa County’s new state court judge’s seat includes a public defender, a prosecutor and a former city court judge.
The Judicial Nominating Commission is scheduled to interview Assistant District Attorney Chris Arnt, Public Defender David Dunn and Fort Oglethorpe City Manager Ron Goulart on June 13. Dunn said he would be qualified for the position in part because in 2004 he opened the public defender’s office that serves Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade and Walker counties. He said he oversees 10 lawyers and manages a budget of about $1.4 million.
“My experience in creating a successful Public Defender’s office in a circuit that had been traditionally resistant to such a concept has both prepared me for taking on this State Court challenge and also stands as evidence of my demonstrated ability to meet that challenge,” Dunn wrote in his application.
Arnt, who has been a prosecutor in the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit for about 23 years, said he is in charge of overseeing 13 attorneys. Alan Norton, another local prosecutor, nominated Arnt for the position.
“Mr. Arnt would serve the people of Catoosa County as its inaugural state court judge with integrity and with a sense of justice developed over the years,” Norton wrote.
Goulart, meanwhile, nominated himself for the job. He has been a Chattanooga police officer for eight years, a juvenile court judge for six years, a city court judge for 20 years, a Fort Oglethorpe city attorney for 20 years and a city manager for nine years.